In emerging countries and areas where the use of prepaid wireless calling plans is on the rise, callers have found ways to communicate using phone networks while avoiding paying for call charges. One way in which callers avoid such charges is by using a “Missed Call” message to communicate information. A caller may call a party, let the called party's phone ring, and then end the call before the called party answers. A “Missed Call” message will be displayed on the called party's phone, showing that the caller made the call. The “Missed Call” message often has a meaning to both the caller and the called party.
For example, a parent may instruct a teenage child to call once he or she has reached a destination. The parent may wish to avoid incurring service charges for the call, e.g., if the child is traveling to an area in which extra service charges would be applied for roaming. So, the parent may instruct the child to simply hang up, e.g., after the second ring if the destination is reached safely. When the child reaches the destination safely, calls the parents, and disconnects the call after the second ring, a “Missed Call” message will be displayed on the parent's phone. This serves as a message to the parent that the child has reached his or her destination safely.
A disconnected call does not incur any billing charges but does consume network resources. The burden on network resources is expected to grow as the use of the “Missed Call” messaging gains widespread use.